Sam Raimi Boards Adaptation of Video Game Sensation 'The Last of Us'

March 7, 2014 (7:57 am) GMT

The movie version of Naughty Dog's video game sensation will be scripted by the game's creative director Neil Druckman.

Award-winning Playstation 3 video game "The Last of Us" is getting a live action movie treatment. "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi is involved in the production as a producer, while the game's creative director Neil Druckman is enlisted to write the script. Screen Gems is set to distribute the film.

Coming from developer Naughty Dog, the game takes place in post-apocalyptic United States where most of humanity is infected by parasitic fungus Cordyceps and turns into violent. It follows hardened survivors, Joel and a young girl named Ellie, on their journey through a radically transformed world.

Since being released last summer, it got rave reviews for its innovative storytelling and gameplay. It received numerous recognitions including a Game of the Year prize, a Writers Guild of America award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for Video Games, and 10 nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Video Game (BAFTA) Awards.

"Screen Gems' Brian Dukes and Eric Ling brought this game to my attention insisting we go after it," says the studio's president Clint Culpepper. "When I saw the quality of the storytelling, I knew the audience for this project was far greater than just the gaming community and that Neil Druckmann must write the screenplay."

"I am thrilled that SCEA's Riley Russell was able to get me in front of Neil and Evan Wells to plead my case. And Sam and his team at Ghost House round out the perfect team to help realize Neil's vision."